Kate Ellis, former Vice President of Chartering and Commercial Operations for BP, visited Birmingham Business School this week to share her views on leadership as part of the School's Distinguished Leader Series.

After the success of last year's Public Service Academy Employability Event, the Schools of Government and Society and Social Policy, in conjunction with the Public Service Academy (PSA) and the College of Social Science Careers Network, held its second employability event on 26 February 2014.

At a time of continuous change, former Education Secretary, Baroness Estelle Morris, will ask whether there is more continuity in the slogans of education policy than the main political parties would care to admit.

I never dreamt that I would be involved in major reforms in countries as diverse as Indonesia, Slovakia and Ukraine. My time at Birmingham has been rich in opportunity and experience and rich in the friendship of likeminded colleagues both here and abroad.

Perhaps it was unusual but nevertheless at Birmingham University, in my time, I cross-read between several disciplines. At INLOGOV, my Master's degree (1970-71) permitted me to study not only UK central and local government, but also administration in developing countries. In addition, I read aspects of social policy and social administration in another department.